[Electromyographic and manometric studies of stomach motility after vagotomy]

Vagotomy coincides not only with a reduction of the cephalic phase of secretion but also with a significant reduction of the motor activity of the stomach. Electrical and mechanical activity of the gastric wall after truncal vagotomy were verified in animal experiments (dog n = 5) by means of implanted electrodes and pressure transducers. Longlasting motility disturbances expressed as a disorganisation of the basic electrical rhythm occurred in the gastric wall. According to the pattern periods of tachygastria and tachyarrhythmia were identified. Those periods interrupted the regular fasted motility and persisted in the postprandial period. Simultaneous registration of the mechanical activity of the gastric wall during disorders of the electrical rhythm revealed a complete absence of contractility which probably is the pathophysiological correlate for the frequently described delayed gastric emptying after vagotomy.